HyperCITY reworks retail strategy, will open express stores

After recently shifting focus to North India, K Raheja Corp companyHyperCITY Retail (India), plans to open smaller stores in India. Earlier in 2015, the company tried express formats but wanted to fine tune the model before unfurling the plans.

“We had tried an express format last year(2015) and we believe it can be a good model. But we have to first fine tune it and we believe by the next year(2016) we should be able to come up with this type of format in the right catchments,” Govind Shrikhande, Managing Director, Shoppers Stop Ltd, had told Indiaretailing Bureau in an interview.

As per a recent report in PTI, the company is re-positioning its strategy with a focus on smaller stores and is also adopting an Omnichannel presence with its own website to cater to urban customers.

“We are re-positioning ourselves with smaller stores and better product rage and assortments. Space for big stores are not available in good catchment area. In order to reach our customers and to give them choice, we will also start online operations. We are not getting into e-commerce to compete other e-tailers. It makes strategic sense,” HyperCITY Retail CEO Ramesh Menon, was quoted by PTI as saying.

HyperCITY, which launched its first store in Malad, Mumbai, now has 18 stores across Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Bhopal, Amritsar, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Karnataka and Jaipur. Until recently, the company was expanding its store network in West and South India. However in November last year, the company opened its first store in Delhi NCR in Garden Galleria Mall, Noida and now has total four stores in North India.

The small stores or express formats will reportedly be of 40,000-45,000 square feet size.

“When you do an express, it can not be inside a mall; it has to be a standalone store and right now if you look at our stores only two are standalone, all others are within a mall. So yes, we have to fine tune it further and we are working on the learnings we already have and yes, we might come up with this new model by next year,” Shrikhande had told Indiaretailing, referring to location strategy for the smaller format stores.

In addition to smaller stores, HyperCITY is also planning to begin it e-commerce operations from next month.

Shoppers Stop, fashion retail chain of K Raheja Corp company,embarked on its Omnichannel journey way back in 2015 with a dedicated investment of Rs 60 crore for three years( (2015-2017). In an earlier interview, the company had mentioned that by “January 2017 all its formats– HomeStop, Hypercity and Crossword– will be completely omni-channel.”

“Currently, the online share in our overall revenue is 1%; over the next three years we target to take it to 10 percent through digital touchpoints, as the investments keep unfolding. Right now, we are not looking to drive traffic on our website, we first want to get our acts right,” Shrikhande had said.

In addition to its own websites and omni-channel capabilities, the company has entered into strategic alliances with major e-commerce players as well. It has tied-up with Snapdeal, Flipkart, Amazon and Jabong to sell Hypercity’s products on these marketplaces. Additionally, it has also tied up with hyperlocal e-grocers such as ZopNow, Grofers and PepperTap, who pick up grocery from HyperCITY for deliveries.

“So the idea is to be a brick and mortar play, online play, Omnichannel play and marketplace play…so that customers can find us wherever they are and want to shop from. For a retailer like us, omni-channel means putting the consumer at the centre of our strategy and allowing them to decide when, where, and how to shop. The consumer can order anytime, anywhere, and from any device,” Shrikhande pointed out then.